Mission Statement

The mission of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance is to protect, preserve, and restore the wilderness qualities and biodiversity of the public lands within California's northern Santa Lucia Mountains and Big Sur coast.

Toward this end the Ventana Wilderness Alliance will:

Advocate for expanded Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River designations to ensure that roadless lands and free-flowing streams remain as such

Monitor activities and proposals that affect the public lands of the northern Santa Lucia Mountains and Big Sur coast and take action as necessary to preserve wilderness qualities and biodiversity

In 1998, the newly-formed organization inventoried lands within the Los Padres National Forest to determine their suitability for federal designation as Wilderness. The VWA presented their findings to US Congressman Sam Farr, thereby providing a basis for the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act, signed into law in December, 2002. The VWA then initiated projects to benefit the now-expanded Wilderness, its visitors and the wild species that call it home.

VWA volunteers have since dedicated tens of thousands of hours to stewardship and advocacy projects. While most reside in the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area, VWA’s 800-plus members hail from 26 US States and all walks of life. Initially an all-volunteer organization, VWA hired its first paid staff member in 2008 and its first Executive Director in 2010.